(CNN) - They were once on opposing presidential tickets, but Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. John McCain will sit down for a public conversation next week in Sedona, Arizona.

Biden and McCain will share the stage as they open up a dinner for the annual forum at the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University.
"I am very pleased that Vice President Joe Biden, my friend of many years, will speak at this year's Sedona Forum," McCain said in a statement. "From his decades of experience in foreign policy in the Senate to his critical role in the White House today, Vice President Biden has a unique perspective on America's role in this complex and dangerous world."

Before becoming vice president, Biden had a 36-year career as a Democratic senator alongside McCain, a Republican.

While the senator from Arizona has been critical of the Obama administration, McCain recently crossed party lines and sided with his old friend in supporting a bipartisan compromise to expand background checks for firearm purchases. The measure, however, was ultimately voted down.

The Sedona Forum bills itself as a "high-level conclave" of leaders from the private and public sectors who discuss national security, foreign policy, human rights and economic policies.

Other participants this year include GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, Walmart President and CEO Bill Simon, former NBA star and humanitarian Dikembe Mutombo, and former Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril.